NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University, the top-ranked team in the country in the pre-season poll, opened the 2023 season Saturday by recording two very different victories in Raleigh, North Carolina, in the Grand Slam Triangle Classic.
CNU, the defending National Champions, defeated Susquehanna University in the first game of the season, 15-7, in a high-scoring battle and followed later in the day by beating sixth-ranked Belhaven University of Mississippi, 3-1, in a pitcher's duel. The Captains, who went 47-1 last season en route to their first National Championship, will play two more games in Raleigh on Sunday.
Keith Parr's squad opened the 39th year of CNU softball by breaking out the big bats, scoring 15 times on a dozen hits and closing out Susquehanna in six innings. The Captains posted three runs in the first inning and never looked back, eventually pushing the advantage to 11-2 before SU plated five runs in the fifth frame. CNU's four-run sixth inning, a frame that included two home runs, ended the game early due to the eight-run mercy rule. The Captains scored in five of six innings.
Christopher Newport sophomores
Sammy Drew and
Meredith Brickner each drove in four runs for the Captains, and Drew hit a two-run shot in the sixth. Fellow sophomore
McKenzie Presson also delivered a solo home run in the sixth. The Captains showed off their great team speed in the season-opener, stealing five bases in the triumph.
Sophomore left-hander
Jamie Martin, the National Freshman of the Year last year, threw the first three innings for the Captains and picked up the victory. Martin allowed just one unearned run on one hit with seven strikeouts over three frames.
The second game proved to be a bit tougher as the pitching took center stage. The Captains broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the seventh inning with a walk-off home run from junior
Caroline Pollock to defeat Belhaven by a 3-1 score to go 2-0 for the day. Pollock's game-winner was just the third hit of the game for CNU, and Captains' starter
Kate Alger went the distance, allowing just one run on three hits over seven frames while striking out 12 Belhaven batters.
CNU won its first 23 games a year ago, and then concluded the season with 24 consecutive wins, culminating with the National Championship over Trine in Salem, Va.
The Captains are scheduled to play twice as well on Sunday, starting the day with a 10:00 a.m. game vs. 11th-ranked Case Western Reserve University (Ohio) and concluding the Classic with a 2:00 p.m. matchup vs. Bethany College of West Virginia.
